Apparatus dispensing wiping materials in the form of precut z-fold strips or rolls

ABSTRACT

In a housing with a protective cover, two compartments for storing pre-cut wipe materials are arranged one above each other with only one outlet at a base of the machine housing. End strips of each of the stored pre-cut wipe materials are partially superposed and positioned between a plate of the protective cover and a flap for turning over and guiding the strip of material originating from the lower compartment. Manual extraction of one of the strips from the outlet of the machine automatically advances the other strip, and pieces of strip of material originating from the two compartments are alternately torn off which causes uninterrupted dispensing of the pre-cut wipe materials stored in each compartment.

The invention relates to the technical field of dispensing machines forwipe materials and, more especially, those machines designed to allowthe dispensing of materials using at least two strips of materialobtained from two reels or similar.

The Applicant has developed wipe material dispensing machines withautomatic cutting for materials which are wound on reels and include aservice roll and a spare roll. The spare roll, held in position by aspecial-purpose mechanism, is intended to take the place of the serviceroll when the latter is almost exhausted. Under these conditions, thedispensing machine includes a mechanism for transferring the spare rollin order to position it so that it takes the place of the service rollwhich is then removed from the rear of the machine Nevertheless,provision must be made for eventual depletion of the service roll withinitial unwinding of the spare roll and positioning of the two strips ofmaterial of both rolls which are dispensed and cut by the automaticcutting mechanism of the above-mentioned machine.

This solution was designed and developed exclusively for strips ofmaterial wound on a reel and intended to be cut by the cuttingmechanism. The Applicant has filed many patents, some of which have beenexploited. In these embodiments, several sizes of pieces of materialoriginating from the service roll which is nearly exhausted and from thespare roll are dispensed and cut, allowing time to transfer the materialwhich is to be cut thus ensuring uninterrupted replenishment. Once theservice roll is exhausted, it remains stored in the rear of the machineso that it can be removed by the operative tasked with maintenance. Theoperative must install another spare standby roll.

The problem to be solved relates to a different type of wipe materialwhich is in pre-cut accordion pleated or roll form. The machines andtheir transfer mechanism previously described in the context of machineswith automatic cutting are no longer applicable in this new situation.

The approach adopted by the Applicant was therefore to think of a newconcept for dispensing pre-cut wipe materials which gave the machinegreater operational autonomy than just one stack of wipe material inpre-cut accordion pleated or roll form if the pre-cut wipe material iswound.

The problem was that of monitoring uninterrupted replenishment of thestrip of pre-cut material while increasing the machine's materialstorage capacity.

Another problem was the need for a pre-cut wipe material dispensingmachine of simple design without the addition of any standby mechanismor transfer mechanism being used to allow a change of state of the stackor reel of pre-cut material in accordion pleated or roll form, thischange of state being associated with dispensing either the service orthe spare wipe material.

The solution devised by the Applicant satisfies all these requirements,is simple, easy to implement and also increases the machine's storagecapacity and dispensing autonomy when used with a strip of pre-cut wipematerial.

The devised solution proposes a dispensing method which is novel andunexpected compared with previous methods of dispensing wipe materialswhich involve a service roll and a spare roll.

The devised solution relates to a machine for dispensing pre-cut wipematerials which are accordion pleated or wound on a roll and form twostacks of reels of pre-cut wipe material which are in servicesimultaneously, i.e. without making any distinction between the serviceroll and the spare roll as was previously the case.

According to a first aspect, the machine for dispensing pre-cut wipematerials which are accordion pleated or in roll form is distinctive inthat it comprises, in a housing with a protective cover, twocompartments arranged one above each other with only one outlet at thebase of the machine and in that the end strips of each of the storedpre-cut wipe materials are partially superposed and positioned betweenthe wall of the machine's cover and a flap for turning over and guidingthe strip of material originating from the lower compartment and in thatmanual extraction of one of the strips emerging from the machineautomatically causes transport of the other strip and in that separationof the pieces of strips of material originating from the twocompartments takes place alternately, thus producing continuousdispensing of the two wipe materials from the stacks of reels ofmaterials that are stored in each compartment.

These aspects and others will become apparent from the rest of thedescription.

The object of the present invention is described, merely by way ofexample, in the accompanying drawings in which:

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the machine for dispensing pre-cut wipematerial when it is closed, in service and dispensing a strip ofmaterial.

FIG. 2 is a large-scale partial view showing the dispensing of wipematerials with successive presentation of strips of material originatingfrom the two storage areas.

FIG. 3 is a view, as in FIG. 2, showing extraction of a strip of wipematerial after it is first pulled by the user as shown in FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a view of the dispensing machine according to the inventionwith its cover open; the strips of material have been lifted out of theway in order to make it easier to understand how the machine functions.

FIG. 5 is a ¾ perspective view of the machine with its cover open andshows the positioning of the strips of material originating from the twostorage compartments.

FIG. 6 is a partial view showing the presentation and prepositioning ofthe strips of material originating from the storage compartments.

In order that the object of the invention may more readily beunderstood, the following description is given, merely by way ofexample, reference being made to the accompanying drawings.

The machine for dispensing pre-cut wipe material which is accordionpleated or on a reel or roll in accordance with the invention is denotedin its entirety by (D). It comprises a housing (1) with a back wall (1a) and lateral sides (1 b) and, in a horizontal plane, comprises twosuperposed support shelves (1 c) and (1 d) which define two storagecompartments (A.B) in which the wipe materials M1-M2 of theabove-mentioned type (accordion pleated or in reel form) are located.

On its base, the housing, accommodates an articulated cover (2) whichhas a front plate (2 a) which matches the height of the machine and twolateral walls (2 b) capable of fitting around the lateral sides (1 b) ofthe housing.

The upper horizontal face of the cover (2 c) has a locking system (3) ofthe key or similar type which is capable of cooperating with matchingmeans provided on the back wall of the housing.

The lower part of the cover has a central trapezoidal shaped cut-out (2d) which allows strips of wipe material through as described later on.

The lower part of cover (2) also comprises two small shaped bars (2 e)which are capable of guiding the strips of wipe material as they emergeand presenting them in a pre-folded position as shown in the view whichshows the separation of pieces of the strip.

The housing has, on its front face and on each of its compartments, twoarticulated flaps (1 e) and (1 f), the upper part of which has a curvedshape (1 m) in order to allow transport and guidance of the strip ofmaterial. The lower part of each flap is articulated at the level ofshelf (1 c) or (1 d) which defines the storage compartment in question.The upper part of each flap has catches (1 g) or equivalent means whichare capable of snapping onto the lateral sides (1 b) of the housing.

The strips of material are thus installed very easily after opening thecover and swivelling each of the flaps (1 e) and (1 f); this makes itpossible to install the strip(s) of pre-cut wipe material which is/areeither accordion pleated or in roll form. This method of presentationmay vary. The storage volume of the two compartments (A) and (B) isdesigned to make it possible to dispense a very large number ofdifferent sized pieces of strips of material. As shown in the drawings,each stack or reel of pre-cut material is independent and placed in itsstorage compartment (A) or (B) with a view to ensuring the dispensing ofthe material or materials. The end strip of each stack or reel ispresented so that it goes over the top of the respective retractableflap (1 e) or (1 f) of each compartment (A) or (B). As shown in thedrawings, it is apparent that the strips of material originating fromthe first and second compartments are capable of partially overlappingand being presented on the front part of the housing facing the cover.According to one important feature of the invention, the flap (1 e) ofthe first compartment (A) has a protruding crescent shape (1 n) facingthe inner wall of plate (2 a) of the cover, thus making it possible toflatten the strips of material against the inner wall of the cover whileleaving enough space to allow them to advance due to the actionperformed by the user. This crescent shape has a cut-out (1 h) which islocated opposite the cut-out (2 d) formed on the front face of the coverin order to facilitate removal of the strip of material from the base.

According to another important feature of the invention, the strips ofwipe material are pre-cut to define pieces of a size having a length (H)of 20 cm for example. According to the invention, each strip of wipematerial (M1) (M2) has, between two successive lines of perforations (4a), a horizontal transverse marked line (4 b) positioned in the middleof each piece. This feature is important because it makes it possible,when the machine is loaded, to preposition the strips of wipe material(M1) (M2) which originate from the two storage compartments (A) (B). Themarked lines (4 b) can be made in any appropriate manner in the form ofa coloured or non-coloured line or mark or any other sign which isconspicuous and enables the maintenance operative to easily position thestrips of wipe material relative to each other. The line is located athalf the height (H1) of the piece of strip relative to the line ofperforations.

The purpose of this locating mark is to allow the end of the secondstrip originating from upper compartment (B) to be positioned centrallybetween the lines of perforations of the first strip of wipe materialoriginating from first compartment (A). This marking system on the stripof material is preferable and easy to produce but, alternatively, it isalso possible to design the walls of the housing or the flap of thefirst compartment with locating marks for prepositioning the strip ofmaterial.

FIGS. 2 and 3, in particular, show that the material is dispensed quitenaturally by pulling the first strip which simultaneously advances thesecond strip originating from the second compartment. The pieces ofstrip are torn off alternately, firstly the strip of materialoriginating from the lower compartment and then the top strip and so on.As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, each strip of material M1-M2 is presentedalternately and overlaps and protrudes beyond the other strip.

When the two stacks of materials are being dispensed, the spacing of thestrips of material is equivalent to half the size of each piece

For example, with a size having a length (H) of 20 cm, the overlap (H1)is 10 cm for the leading emerging strip and 5 cm for the other strip;this is repeated alternately as pieces are torn off by the user.

There is therefore always a large protruding area of strip of materialwhich can be easily grasped by the user. The easiest and most directinspection method is to check the length of the protruding strip ofmaterial. If both compartments are in service, the strip protrudes 10cm, if only one compartment is in service, the strip protrudes by halfthis amount, i.e. 5 cm. The storage compartments are filled alternately,first the bottom compartment and then the top compartment, and so forth.

The invention has considerable advantages. It is easy to implement. Themachine is extremely inexpensive to manufacture and there is no transfermechanism of the kind described in previous patents concerning automaticcutting devices for strips of material. What is more, the embodiment ofthe invention makes it easier and quicker to grasp and remove the stripof paper. Pulling a length of 10 cm causes dispensing of pieces ofmaterial having a size of 20 cm in the example given. The remainingquantities of stacks of material installed can be checked by providingsight windows on the sides of the machine's housing.

The machine according to the invention for dispensing pre-cut wipematerials can be used to dispense materials which are either accordionpleated or wound on reel.

Very advantageously and in order to ensure uninterrupted replenishmentof the dispensing machine, the operative tasked with maintenance mustplace, in one compartment, a stack of materials which contains a greaterquantity of pre-cut pieces than the second stack of materials located inthe other compartment. This makes it possible to achieve alternateuninterrupted loading and ensures that the two stacks of materials arenever exhausted at the same time.

1. Machine for dispensing pre-cut wipe materials which are accordionpleated or in roll form comprising a housing with a protective cover,two storage compartments arranged one above each other in the housingwith only one outlet at a base of the housing, wherein the compartmentstores respective stocks or rolls of the pre-cut wipe materials, the endstrips of each of the stored stacks or rolls of pre-cut wipe materialsare partially superposed and positioned between a plate of theprotective cover and a flap for turning over and guiding the strip ofmaterial originating from the lower compartment, manual extraction ofone of the strips from the outlet automatically advances the otherstrip, and pieces of strip of material originating from the twocompartments are alternately torn off which causes uninterrupteddispensing of two wipe materials from the respective stacks or rolls ofmaterial stored in each compartment.
 2. Dispensing machine as claimed inclaim 1, wherein the housing comprises a back wall, lateral sides andtwo superposed horizontal support shelves defining the two storagecompartments, and the housing has, on a front face, two articulatedflaps, one on each of the compartments, and upper parts of the flapshave a curved shape in order to allow transport and guidance of thestrips of material.
 3. Dispensing machine as claimed in claim 2, whereina flap of the lower compartment has a protruding crescent shape facingan inner wall of the plate of the protective cover, and said crescentshape has a cut-out.
 4. Dispensing machine as claimed in claim 2,wherein the protective cover has a front plate which matches a height ofthe housing with two lateral walls, and a lower part of the front platehas a central cut-out for removal of the strips of material and twoshort bars to guide emerging strips of material for pre-folding theemerging strips and ensuring separation of the pieces.
 5. Dispensingmachine as claimed in claim 1, further comprising prepositioninglocating marks on a flap of the lower compartment or on a wall of thehousing.
 6. Pre-cut wipe materials, accordion pleated or in roll form,adapted to be dispensed by the dispensing machine of claim 1, having,between two successive lines of perforations, a horizontal marked linelocated at half a height of a piece of strip relative to a line ofperforations.